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25040Venturebeat.comDatawind brings a $38 Android tablet to the U.S. — on the heels of India’s cheap Aakash tablethttp://venturebeat.com/2013/12/16/datawind-makers-of-indias-cheap-aakash-tablet-brings-a-38-tablet-to-the-u-s/
http://venturebeat.com/2013/12/16/datawind-makers-of-indias-cheap-aakash-tablet-brings-a-38-tablet-to-the-u-s/#respondMon, 16 Dec 2013 15:03:04 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=872889Datawind’s mission to deliver ultra-cheap tablets for everyone, no matter their income, is finally headed to the U.S. Today the Canadian company announced that it will offer three of its 7-inch Android UbiSlate tablets in the United States, with the cheapest (the UbiSlate 7ci) running for a mere $38. The news follows the company’s launch […]
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Datawind’s mission to deliver ultra-cheap tablets for everyone, no matter their income, is finally headed to the U.S.

Today the Canadian company announced that it will offer three of its 7-inch Android UbiSlate tablets in the United States, with the cheapest (the UbiSlate 7ci) running for a mere $38.

The UbiSlate 7ci’s specs — a 1.2 gigahertz dual-core processor, only 8 gigabytes of storage — sound puny compared to most tablets, even Google’s cheap Nexus 7. But, in this case, having specs that are merely “good enough” is essential for reaching that $38 price.

Datawind says it’s focusing on the 20 percent of Americans who currently don’t have any Internet access. Ultra-cheap tablets like the UbiSlate could also be ideal for classrooms that can’t afford to shell out $200 per device for current low-end tablets.

While the $38 UbiSlate relies on Wi-Fi for web access, Datawind will also offer a year of mobile connectivity with a slightly upgraded model, the UbiSlate 7C+, for $100 (without mobile web, it will cost $80). A higher-end UbiSlate 3G7 model will cost $150 with a year of Internet access, or $130 on its own. Both tablets will push mobile data through Datawind’s servers to speed up load times.

Speaking to the Washington Post, Datawind CEO Suneel Sing Tuli laid out an even more ambitious goal of producing a $20 tablet in the next two years. That may seem impossible today, but then again, so did the idea of a $35 tablet a few years ago.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2013/12/16/datawind-makers-of-indias-cheap-aakash-tablet-brings-a-38-tablet-to-the-u-s/feed/0872889Datawind brings a $38 Android tablet to the U.S. — on the heels of India’s cheap Aakash tabletIndia’s $35 Aakash2 tablet debuts at the United Nationshttp://venturebeat.com/2012/11/28/india-aakash2-united-nations/
http://venturebeat.com/2012/11/28/india-aakash2-united-nations/#respondWed, 28 Nov 2012 18:58:42 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=581154With its second Aakash tablet, India has to convince the world it has learned from the mistakes from its first.
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NEW YORK — India’s first Aakash tablet proved that it was possible to build a $35 tablet for low-income students. But with the Aakash2, which officially launched today at the United Nations, India has delivered an extremely cheap tablet that you may actually want.

We’ve already had a (very favorable) in-depth look at the Aakash2. But now India, and its manufacturing partner Datawind, has to convince the rest of the world that it has learned from the issues with the first Aakash, which was difficult to use because of its slow hardware.

From the specs alone, the Aakash2 is faster and more capable than its predecessor. It features a 1 gigahertz processor and 512 megabytes of RAM. That’s the same CPU speed of the first iPad and twice as much RAM, Suneet Sing Tuli, Datawind’s chief executive, made sure to note today. The Aakash2 also features a capacitive touchscreen (so it feels as smooth as modern tablets), a bigger battery, and a front-facing camera for video conferencing.

“There is a reason places like Hyderabad are called ‘Cyberabad,’” UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon said today. “But we know technology is not an end in itself. The key is to empower people to make the most of their own potential.”

He added:

Information and communications technologies are engines of economic growth and development and can help transform people’s lives. They are great enablers — helping people communicate across distances, facilitating trade and commerce and providing better access to health care and education.

The Aakash project was initially conceived as a way to squash illiteracy among India’s students, no matter their family’s income. Indian Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri noted today that the country has 361 million children who should be in school, but only 219 million are actually enrolled.

Even for those in school, the quality of education in India is also directly correlated with their distance from a city. The Aakash tablet could be a tool that increases education quality, and potentially tempts more students to schools as well.

“Our challenge is to leverage the power of technology and bridge the digital divide,” UN Secretary General Moon said. “We need to do more to help all children and young people make the most of the opportunities provided by information and communications technology – especially all those who are still unconnected from the digital revolution.”

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2012/11/28/india-aakash2-united-nations/feed/0581154India’s $35 Aakash2 tablet debuts at the United NationsHands-on with the $35 Aakash2 tablet: I want onehttp://venturebeat.com/2012/09/18/hands-on-with-the-35-aakash-2-tablet-i-want-one/
http://venturebeat.com/2012/09/18/hands-on-with-the-35-aakash-2-tablet-i-want-one/#respondTue, 18 Sep 2012 16:00:30 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=532854Still waiting for that new iPad mini? Or perhaps you couldn't wait and decided to drop $199 on some 7-inch tablet?
How about a $50 Android tablet?
]]>Still waiting for that new iPad mini? Or perhaps you couldn’t wait and decided to drop $199 on some 7-inch tablet?

How about a $50 Android tablet? That’s what the much-hyped Aakash2 will go for, or just $35 if you’re an Indian student.

Back in late October, 2011 we reported on the first Aakash. Targeted at students in India and intended to sell for just $35, the tablet was designed to achieve a basic level of functionality to allow students to read e-textbooks, perform basic web searches, watch video, and still have enough power for future HTML 5 interactive education sites that are being created as we speak.

The first Aakash we reviewed was rough around the edges, but it showed the basic concept was feasible. Now we have the Aakash2 — and it’s not just a concept any more. This is a fully functional mini-tablet that basically does all the main things you expect from a tablet. And it’s still under $60 for most buyers.

It seems that the sub-$60 tablet is here to stay, with all of the implications noted by Vivek Wadhwa last week on VentureBeat. You can get a device like the Chinese A-pad in the US for around $79, but that is still a bit high for poorer students, so the $35 price point is pretty important. And India is not the only place people are working on a super cheap tablet for student use. Intel has started on a similar project in the U.S., although it hasn’t made any announcements on specs or price point yet.

Ubislate tablets — the commercial version of Aakash — with SIM (data and smartphone functionality) will have a retail price of Rs.2,999 ($54.52) for the GPRS version and Rs.4,499 ($81.80) for the 3G version. The Aakash and Ubislate tablets are also billed as the only Adroid tablets to feature DataWind’s UbiSurfer browser, which is supposed to accelerate web pages load times by factors of 10 – 30x. The UbiSurfer technology is covered by 18 U.S. patents that allow it to deliver web pages on GPRS in about 5 to 7 seconds (compared to many minutes if web pages are accessed on GPRS using traditional means). On 3G, the speed improves to 2 to 3 seconds. GPRS network coverage is available to over 80 percent of the 1.2 billion population of India. Through a special agreement with a network operator, DataWind offers Rs.98 ($1.78)/month for unlimited internet on GPRS.

Aakash-1 (IIT-Rajasthan spec)

Aakash-2 (DataWind Spec)

UbiSlate 7C+ (Commercial version of Aakash2)

Touch Panel

Resistive

Multi-touch Projective Capacitive

Multi-touch Projective Capacitive

Processor

Arm11 – 366Mhz

Cortex A8 – 1Ghz

Cortex A8 – 1Ghz

RAM

256 MB

512MB

512MB

Flash Memory

2GB

4GB

4GB

OS

Android 2.2

Android 4.0.3

Android 4.0.3

Sensor

None

G-Sensor

G-Sensor

Battery

2100mAh

3000mAh

3000mAh

Camera

None

Front – VGA

Front – VGA

Price

$49.98

$41.15

$63

Network

WiFi

WiFi

WiFi + GPRS

The Good

The device is greatly improved over the first version in all categories. It looks better, runs better, feels better. Although the version we reviewed is not the final version, it still feels very mature, with rounded corners, easy feel, and responsive screen. Upgrading from an ARM11 (366Mhz) to a Cortex A8 (1GHz) makes all the difference in the world. Android 4.0.3 feels responsive, screen pans are smooth, and apps open as quickly as you would expect. RAM has also been upped from 256MB to 512MB. You can overload it if you have too many things running at the same time, but some simple app management takes care of this easily. Battery life is okay — I was able to spend a day using it as my go to device and it held up, but only just. Not bad for a 3000mAh battery.

It has a USB port as well as a card slot. Since there is only 4GB on-board storage, you will want to stick a memory card in here. I had a 4GB memory card laying around so I popped that in, which gave me plenty of space for anything I wanted. However, the big win of the card slot is the ability to pop in a semester’s worth of eDocs and exercises. I could totally see going from class to class and swapping disks, or putting everything I need for the semester on a single large card. I could also connect my USB thumb drive using the adapter, giving me plenty of storage options.

Unlike its predecessor, the Aakash2 has an on-board speaker, microphone, and front-facing camera. Do not bother trying to take nice pictures with it, since it only supports 640 x 480-pixel images. However, this is enough for video chat.

Although this is supposed to be an education device, people are going to play games on it. So I loaded Angry Birds Space, and the graphics were super smooth, with good sound from the speakers as well.

The Bad

The screen is nice until you take it outside. I’ve had the same issue with my first-generation iPad and the first Galaxy Tab, so it’s in good company. However, when I was a student, my favorite thing was to study outside. I can’t believe I’m the only one.

The device uses a mini USB connector instead of a full-size USB2. This is a good decision from a form factor point of view, but annoying from the human point of view, as I had to use an adapter to connect my keyboard. (It’s a bonus that I could connect a keyboard at all, though!) The first Aakash came with a case and keyboard. I expect this will have that option as well, making my complaints moot.

The device I had was accidentally reset to factory settings, and I know DataWind, the company who built the tablet, had a custom browser and an accelerator as well as firmware. The web browser is slow. Once the page is loaded, it’s fine, but this thing really chokes on images. I asked about this and it was confirmed that the slow images were in fact expected with a factory restore.

The Wanting…

Despite the drawbacks, for just $60, I want this device! Because of the small, 7-inch form factor, it’s easy to put one of these in my back pocket and carry it around like a third device. I can also see giving these away as the price drops under $50. Imagine going to a hotel, but instead of seeing a bunch of magazines laying about, they put one of these in your room. And you’re expected to take it with you. Heck, many textbooks cost more then these mini tablets.

The world of cheap tablets is not coming, it’s here. Now we just need to sit back and watch the world change again — just as it did when cheap smartphones hit the market.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2012/09/18/hands-on-with-the-35-aakash-2-tablet-i-want-one/feed/0532854Hands-on with the $35 Aakash2 tablet: I want one